Les LeFevre, Artist

Recent Paintings

2012-01-12T17:37:00.005-07:00

I finally got to settle down to painting after the holidays. I should not let them interupt painting but they always do. You need dedicated time to create the idea and then paint it. Blocks of time seem to get gobbled up this time of year. I keep saying I am not going to let other people determine my schedule but the result would be divorce and becoming a hermit so we compromise. Here are my two I am finishing up this week

Grand Teton Gallery Jackson Hole

2011-10-31T12:59:00.003-06:00

I spent a good part of August and all of September in Wyoming and South Dakota. I am now exhibiting in a new Gallerly in Jackson Hole Wyoming, called the Grand Teton Gallery!! It is almost across the street from the Wort Hotel on Broadway. Ian McLennan is the owner and we hope him all the success in the world. I also had a week in South Dakota taking picturs of cowboys and Indians for new paintings. It was a good photoshoot and should have reference for many paintings. Now is the time to settle down and paint since my son was married this past weekend (congrats, Emily and Brian) and all the hoopla is over for a while.

Grizzlys Everywhere

2011-08-09T09:01:00.002-06:00

Well, May and June in Wyoming was like living the documentary, Wild America! There were Elk with calves, Pronghorn Antelope with young, Moose with young, Bighorn sheep with young, Mule Deer with young and then there were the Bears with young.
Because of the unusual snowfall of three times the normal and unusually cool weather the snow pack was down at 8000 feet and so were all the animals. Hiking was kept to a minimum so I got lots of painting done. I am now in Grand Teton Gallery in Jackson Hole Wyoming as well a Silver Sage Gallery in Dubois Wyoming. I was in the Wind River Artist Guild National Show and took a first place ribbon in oils and sold the painting as well. It was called "Coming Home" and it was two cowboys driving some horses across a river. All in all it was a great spring

The Charge

2011-04-05T17:16:00.003-06:00

This is my latest that I am working on. I am still not sure of some of the background figures or if I want to add more costuming to the featured subject. It is time to set it aside for a week or two.

"Insurrectos " finished?

2011-02-03T13:41:00.006-07:00

I added a couple more shadow figures but still not happy with it. This may never see the light of day. Maybe I need to darken the sky?

The Insurrectos (Generals Villa and Zapata)

2011-01-31T14:31:00.005-07:00

I had this one started at least a year ago and was stuck. I put it aside and decided it would be a good painting to drag out and work on since I had not been painting a lot. I am not sure that makes good sense since it is not an easy painting to do with multiple figures and depth perception but what the heck it wasn't painting itself, sitting in the corner. Besides those paintings haunt you and you have to make a decision sooner or later to finish or throw out. It was a linen canvas and I just couldn't do that to a piece of linen. Here it is in an almost finished state that I will set in a corner and look at and decide again to invest in a frame or pitch. What do you think?

Paying Respects

2011-01-03T18:54:00.004-07:00

I have just about finished what I now call "Paying Respects". These cowboys as far as we know did not bury their friend but have come to say "goodbye" and "pay respects". If their friend died from a fall from a horse or shot through the heart we cannot know, but the grave will soon disappear from wind and weather and this may be the last time they will visit or even be able to find it. Only one horse has a rope but all three cowboys have guns, so maybe that tells us something.
I tried to keep the color tones somewhat somber. The computer picture is actually a little bright and the colors a little rich. I hope it works and you enjoy it.

Cowboy Funeral

2010-12-30T19:34:00.002-07:00

I have continued to fill in the cowboys and tried to balance out the background light with the shadowed figures. I want to keep them from being silhouettes so that there is enough interest to want to go back and look at the painting again. I will try to keep the background light and uncompeting with the main characters. I will continue to work on the lighting and shadows and refining the overall feel.

A New Trail

2010-12-10T15:54:00.013-07:00

I guess I am writing this mainly to myself. I have been tending to my aging mother who passed on to be with God and her family on November 8, 2010. After spending 2 to 3 hours a day for the last 8 months with her, it is now time to return to my art. I found through all this time that painting is something that can be done any time but to create art and do the best you can do is not something that can be done with out complete devotion to it. It is time to get back to work. I warmed up with a little 9x12 of String Lake near Jackson Hole Wyoming. It is a wonderful little place with lots of atmosphere. You can hardly go wrong in any weather or time of year. I also have gone back to painting The Funeral piece and will show you how I am progressing. I have worked one part of the painting all the way to the foreground and in to the distance to try to establish some feeling of depth and see if I want to make changes

Headin back to Dubois

2010-08-16T16:24:00.007-06:00

After spending almost two months in Ohio it is time to get back out to where I belong. Tending to an aging parent in Ohio is a tough part of life but it is a necessary part of life. Now is the time for a few weeks in Wyoming to paint and recharge the old batteries. "End of the Day" was a fun low light paintng to do. I have started a "Cowboy Funeral". I took a progress picture as I started here. I roughed in with burnt umber over a pretty red canvas. I am hoping it will subdue some of the color and at the same time warm it up a bit. I will try to show this painting as I progress but it will have to wait until I return . I will see you all again in September.

2010-07-07T16:59:00.019-06:00

Hi Folks, It has been about 2 months since I have had access to my computer to keep up with what is goin on. I sold two out of three of those paintings I posted last time. Right after the Cincinnati Nature Center Show we headed to Smythwick, South Dakota to do some roundups and branding along with some good western eating and hospitality after the roundups. It just didn't work out that way since it rained and rained and rained. The corrals were so muddy we thought we might lose a calf or even a cowboy if we tried forcing a branding. So Kathy and I did some real cowboy work of cleaning out the barn and just checking on the calves to see that they had their heads above water.

After a couple of days with no dry weather in sight we headed for our home in Wyoming and some good times painting and hiking. There was the annual Antler Rendezvous the 2nd week in May and also the annual pack horse races the following week in Dubois. Even though it was still a little cool they both were well attended and it made for a real western welcome.

We were able to get in some nice hiking including horsecreek where we saw these Elk.

Elk and antelope were everywhere this spring. Maybe the wolves are keeping them at a lower altitude and we are seeing more of them like these ladies with their calves. While hiking up near the Wiggins Fork of the Wind River I took a pictue of kathy and didn't notice until I was posting this blog there is an antelope grazing on the hillside behind her. We were a little nervous about bears in that area and we thought we were keeping a watchful eye, I am glad the antelope was not a bear.

My long time friend Bill Brady was visiting so we had to go to Yellowstone only 70 miles west of our home. We saw lots of Buffalo and a beautiful snow covered parting shot of Mt. Moran.

Now if you think I saved no time for painting you would be wrong because I was able to squeeze out a few miniatures 6x8 and a couple of larger Indian portraits. I did a nice little buffalo painting but in my rush forgot to get picture of it and it has been sent off to the Wind River Artist Guild Show.

Latest paintings

2010-03-30T14:31:00.010-06:00

I have changed "the Arroyo" again by pushing the background way back and I think it helps this piece. I believe I am finished with it. I have redone the foregound in "Above Horse Creek in Autumn" and made the colors a little deeper to make it read better and finally I did a little cloud painting of "Clouds over the Gros Ventres".

Dressed to Kill

2010-03-27T20:34:00.004-06:00

Since I am on a run of posts here I might as well bare all and show you the other painting I have been working on, a figurative one. I am not wild about it either, that is why it is on my blog rather than my web site. I wanted to do this portrait since the model, Jay Redhawk is wearing my replica bearclaw necklace and the shield that I made. It is just kind of dull and flat and I am not sure how to cure it. Painting over it with another subject usually does it but I am not ready to give up on it yet.

Above Horse Creek in Autumn

2010-03-27T08:17:00.002-06:00

I am trying to do a few of these scenic paintings for a nature center fundraiser n April. I don't know how well the western scenes will go over in Ohio but we will find out.

Arroyo at Dennison Ranch

2010-03-26T15:17:00.005-06:00

Well I was not happy with the Dennison Arroyo so I worked on it a little more. I am not sure I helped it much but I tried. I am mostly a figure painter so I have to push myself a little to do scenery and plein air. I have started a smaller 8x10 fall scene titled "Above Horse Creek in Autumn" which I hope is better and will post soon

Dennison Ranch Arroyo

2010-03-08T10:44:00.004-07:00

Finally the snow has begun to melt and the air is beginning to warm. Life is looking better and I finally have had time to get back to the easel. Deadlines for upcoming spring shows have something to do with it also. I am finishing up a 11x14 piece "The Arroyo" done in oil. It is of an arroyo on the old Dennison Ranch outside Dubois. I have wanted to paint this arroyo for some time and finally got to do it.

Quest for the Ivorybilled Woodpecker

2010-01-19T16:11:00.027-07:00

I just returned from a very chilly week in the Cyprus Swamps of North Florida hunting for the allusive Ivorybilled Woodpecker. The morning temperature ranged from 13 degrees above zero to 22 degrees above zero. It was sunny so the afternoons warmed up into the 30s and 40s. We were not successful this trip in verifying the existance of the Ivorybill but it is a 500,000 acre swamp we are searching so it is a little like a needle in a haystack. I did get a nice picture of a Redshouldered Hawk though. Our team consisted of 18 artists, scientists and adventurers, as well as a videographer. We hope to have some paintings and a video as a result of our trip.

Masterworks visits Eiteljorg

2009-12-13T07:09:00.006-07:00

Gosh, I forgot to mention my annual trip to Eiteljorg for the Quest for the West exhibit held every fall. I went with four other members of Masterworks for Nature, John Agnew, DeVere Burt, Ann Geise and Mary Lou Holt. We attended the first week in October which is the last week for the show. It is great exhibit and wonderfull western art museum with lots of classic work by most of the famous western artists of the past and present. Wish I could show you photos of some of the Quest for the West work but you are not allowed to photograph of course. The permanent exhibit you are allowed to photograph so here is a Russell and a Farny.

2009-12-08T15:29:00.002-07:00

Finally have gotten some time to work on a new piece. I loved the red trade blanket and it authencity. I was intrigued with the character of his face and what you can read into it. No matter what you might think he is thinking it is all with a "Quiet Dignity"

2009-11-24T09:12:00.005-07:00

This past weekend was the opening of my latest show with Masterworks in Nature at the Cincinnati Nature Center. It was well attended and most of us sold at least one piece. On opening night I sold "The Trail Boss" . Pictured is myself with fellow artist John Ruthven and Cincinnati Nature Center board member Deb Krehbiel. Also attending over the weekend was my high school freshman English teacher Mrs. Nadine Wilson. My what a surprise and I can't imagine the shock when she saw her freshman student with no hair and a grey beard.

Masterworks for Nature Show

2009-11-12T07:30:00.020-07:00

I did a few new smaller pieces for the upcoming Masterworks Show at the Cincinnati Nature Center. "Trail Boss", "Horsecreek Hayfields" and "Winter Camp" are 8x10 and 9x12 pieces. Trail Boss is of Rob Culbertson, a rancher from Nebraska. He is an excellent cowboy, horseman and model and I need to do more of him

Dubois Hikes

2009-11-11T19:22:00.018-07:00

Well, just a quick note to catch up on my stay in Dubois before getting back to serious painting. The Susan K Black Workshop and show was held in Dubois in September and the painting of the black cowboy, "For Hire",that I did this summer, received a first place in oils. We did a lot of plein air painting and visiting with other artists. We took many hikes to places like Jade Lake with Gary Keimig and my wife Kathy. It is not hard to see where the lake got it's name. We also went to Gunsight Pass above Green Lake and the Green River on the Pinedale side of the Wind River Mountains with fellow artist Steve left and Ann Wernike . What a spectacular sight in the fall of the year.

Last but not least was a very tiring but moving hike to Bomber Falls where a B 24 Bomber crashed in 1943 during a training mission and all 11 aboard were lost. It is very high up in the Wind River Mountains just above a beautiful falls. The crash site is still littered with debris after all these years. Things take a long time to break down in this dry climate. The aluminum fuselage still is as shiney as the day it crashed. Fitting that I post this on Veterans Day.

Boedeker Butte

2009-10-20T17:55:00.016-06:00

After leaving AR, I made a quick trip to the Sioux Trading Post at Prairie's Edge in Rapid City. It is a great place to see traditional clothing and regalia made by todays Native American Artists and the trading post has anything you could want for pow wows or to construct a reproduction of native art or clothing.
Soon after arriving in Dubois Wyoming, my friend Sig called me to invite me on a hike he was taking to Boedeker Butte with his friends Bob and Kay. We drove about 15 miles into the Absaroka Range to Bog Lake and then hiked a few miles and a couple of thousand feet higher to Boedeker Butte. That is me on the left and Sig with his dog Ruger on the right. It was over 10,000 feet and absolutely gorgeous. On the way up we passed a sight where Sheep Eater Indians had cut down trees many years ago to get to the pine nuts. The trees were laying where they fell. Bob bored some of the fallen trees as well as some live ones to try to match up growth rings to determine how long ago. I have not heard if he was successful. We also passed an ancient sheep trap used by the same Indians to trap and kill the Big Horn Sheep on which they depended for food, clothing and much more. We packed our lunch and dined under some Limber Pines near the Butte. I imagine we could see for at least twenty to thirty miles. I was pretty bushed when we returned not having hiked at altitude for a while.

Artist Ride in South Dakota

2009-10-07T18:14:00.008-06:00

It has been a busy two months. The photo shoot for western artists was held the last week of August on the Shearer Ranches North of Wall South Dakota. For those of you that wondered where we get our references for 18th and 19th century paintings, one of the places is Artist Ride. It is by invitation only to 50 of the top western artists in the country. There are anywhere from 50 to 80 models including Native Americans, mountain men, cowboys and cowgirls, both modern and historic as well as a lot of livestock, wagons, stagecoaches and about any senerio you would like to create. Most artists take any where from 1,000 to 4,000 photos in a weekend. Digital photography has probably expanded that number quite a bit in recent years. It is a working weekend but also a retreat into the unspoiled land of the Cheyenne River Valley and a socializing between artists and models alike. We have many friends in both camps. We take time to remember those who were no longer with us and even more time renewing old acquaintances and making new ones. These are but a few of the wonderful models that equip themselves with the correct outfits and gear to make our paintings realistic and authentic.

Summer Time

2009-08-12T11:40:00.019-06:00

Well, it has been a busy couple of months back here in Ohio. My daughter moved into a new home and my 95 year old mother who lives on her own has agreed to some in home caregivers. Whoopee! It has taken a bit of painting time getting all this done, but it is time to head back to Wyoming. I have to make a short stop at the "Artist Ride" photo shoot in South Dakota on the way. It is by invitation only and an excellent opportunity to replenish my resources. We also get to meet new models and renew friendships with other western painters. Unfortunately I will not be out there soon enough for "Crow Fair" near the Apsaroka (Crow) Indian Reservation in Montana. I did do a few smaller pieces in the last two weeks. Portraits are always what I go back to when getting into my painting mode.

Absaroka Sunset

2009-07-03T19:53:00.001-06:00

Hey friends! I just could not resist putting up this photo of a sunset over the Absaroka Mountains near Dubois Wyoming. This sunset was in June. If I put it in a painting, you might think I was exagerating.

Miniature Paintings

2009-06-29T20:01:00.000-06:00

While in Dubois in June I did a few little paintings for fun. A little 6x8 oil of a night time Cowboy titled "Night Rider is one of them and an 8x10 oil of a Cowboy titled "I am your Man" You can't always paint the big guys, because you can learn a lot on these little studies and they give people the opportunity to own an original at a substantially lower price. And besides that, they don't take up a lot of wall space. Both paintings are available at the Silver Sage Gallery in Dubois

Punching cows and painting cowboys

2009-06-14T22:06:00.000-06:00

I just returned from a whirlwind 3 1/2 weeks in South Dakota and Wyoming. Kathy and I started out headed for South Dakota for a Cattle Drive. We were too late for the roundup and branding at the Sides Ranch but we were able to help Chuck Seeger move his cattle 18 miles to the branding area. We almost made the whole trip but both of our unshod ponies came up lame about 2/3rds of the way and we felt it better to put them in a corral we passed and finished the drive in the pickup. We saved a little on the soreness since we don't ride distances all that often.

It was then off to our place "The Welcome Wigwam" in Dubois Wyoming. I was able to get in a lot of painting time and was able to produce 4 paintings and 4 small miniatures. The weather was wet and overcast a lot but we had two interesting hikes. The first was with my friend Sig Schulz. We drove my pickup up to about 10,000 ft in the Absoraka range then hiked to where we knew there were some old Indian Sheep Traps on a platau between Windy Gap and Indian Point. At the second trap we found some broken flint points and then the weather threatened. We headed for some trees and there we found the remains of Big Horn Ram killed over the winter, most likely from a Mountain Lion as there was a large log that had been dislodged from its resting place nearby. Three days later after a significant snowfall I took Gary Keimig a fellow artist up to see the Sheep Traps. While on the trail we saw some large bear tracks that were not there a few days before but continued on to the first trap. After being there just a few minutes we were both aware of a definite bear stench. We figured he was just down the hill resting in the timber about 50 yards away. We had intended to cut through the timber to the next trap but decided it was time to head back to the truck and leave well enough alone. We both had bear spray and I had a pistol but we did not want to test them out. I am now back at my studio in Ohio and look forward to reorganizing for a return later this summer.

"Remuda Sundown"

2009-06-08T12:09:00.000-06:00

18"x 24" oil on canvas

A Cowboy from the Shearer Ranch in South Dakota rounding up the Remuda. This painting is at the Silver Sage Gallery

http://www.silversagegallery.com/

http://www.cowboyindianart.com/

" Expecting Rain"

2009-06-07T15:24:00.000-06:00

16 x 20 Oil on canvas
South Dakota Rancher, John Sides ,getting ready for work. I painted this while in Dubois in May after just doing a cattle drive with John.

This painting is avaiable at Silver Sage Gallery.

http://www.silversagegallery.com/

http://www.cowboyindianart.com/